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Sarcopterygii (/ ˌ s ɑːr k ɒ p t ə ˈ r ɪ dʒ i. aɪ /; from Ancient Greek σάρξ (sárx) 'flesh' and πτέρυξ (ptérux) 'wing, fin') — sometimes considered synonymous with Crossopterygii (from Ancient Greek κροσσός (krossós) 'fringe') — is a clade (traditionally a class or subclass) of vertebrate animals which includes a group of bony fish commonly referred to as lobe ...
Lungfish are freshwater vertebrates belonging to the class Dipnoi. [1] Lungfish are best known for retaining ancestral characteristics within the Osteichthyes, including the ability to breathe air, and ancestral structures within Sarcopterygii, including the presence of lobed fins with a well-developed internal skeleton.
Extant freshwater sarcopterygians are listed by continent. The notes column is a collection of annotations on the scientific significance and taxonomic history of listed genera, as well as elaborations on the information presented in other columns.
Coelacanths (/ ˈ s iː l ə k æ n θ / ⓘ SEE-lə-kanth) (order Coelacanthiformes) are an ancient group of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) in the class Actinistia. [2] [3] As sarcopterygians, they are more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods (which includes amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) than to ray-finned fish.
The Australian lungfish spawns and completes its entire lifecycle in freshwater systems. [15] The age of first breeding is estimated to be 17 years for males and 22 years for females. Males typically become mature at 738–790 mm (29.1–31.1 in) and females at 814–854 mm (32.0–33.6 in). [17]
The bony fish evolved into two separate groups: the Actinopterygii (or ray-finned fish) and Sarcopterygii (which includes the lobe-finned fish). During the Devonian period a great increase in fish variety occurred, especially among the ostracoderms and placoderms, and also among the lobe-finned fish and early sharks.
They are ubiquitous throughout freshwater and marine environments from the deep sea to the highest mountain streams. Extant species can range in size from Paedocypris, at 8 mm (0.3 in), to the massive ocean sunfish, at 2,300 kg (5,070 lb), and the long-bodied oarfish, to at least 11 m (36 ft). Sarcopterygii
[2] [3] Although lungfish originated in marine environments, the Ceratodontiformes have been an exclusively freshwater group since the Carboniferous. [4] This order was formerly considered the suborder Ceratodontoidei. All lungfish of the order can and often do estivate (except the spotted African lungfish, which can but rarely does so). [5]